So it turns out we do negotiate with terrorists

[sonofdaxjones]

Would more or less Americans have died from 9/11 until today if we had not declared a war on terror?

The adjusted death rate has continued to decline since 9/11.  Only 5,281 combat deaths since 9/11, which would be statistically insignificant compared to about 2.25 million deaths per year since 9/11.

until this is dax's desktop picture, i can't take it seriously

It wasn't my desk top . . . bro

[michigancat]

Great job everybody, next up: World Hunger.

But hey, did the administration trade 5 bad guys for a deserter and possible traitor?

Hmmm

He's a possible deserter. I think he deserves a trial. (If it even warrants a trial.)

While I appreciate the innocent-until-proven-guilty sentiment, let's get real here. The guy left a note admitting he was deserting. I am a little surprised that the military hasn't already announced their intent to try him, which makes me wonder how much pressure this administration is exerting behind the scenes to sweep it under the rug.

You don't seem like you appreciate the innocent-until-proven-guilty sentiment at all.

Yes I do. By all means, he should be tried. But only a dumbass would ignore the fact that he left a note admitting he intentionally abandoned his post.

Are you talking about the members of his platoon that tried to rescue him after finding this note? I don't think those guys were dumbasses.

[Fake Sugar Dick (WARNING, NOT THE REAL SUGAR DICK!)]

Great job everybody, next up: World Hunger.

But hey, did the administration trade 5 bad guys for a deserter and possible traitor?

Hmmm

He's a possible deserter. I think he deserves a trial. (If it even warrants a trial.)

He's in the military so he'll get what the military calls a trial. Then he'll be sent to a place infinitely worse than Gitmo or even Federal prison. He'll die soon thereafter.

[Fake Sugar Dick (WARNING, NOT THE REAL SUGAR DICK!)]

Pretyy sadistic trade if you ask me.

[Fake Sugar Dick (WARNING, NOT THE REAL SUGAR DICK!)]

Good news, Americans are finally wising up, even it is probably too late.

WaPo Poll: Majority believe Obama less competent than Clinton or Bush,and has made America weaker.

Sixty-eight percent say the Obama administration is less competent that the Clinton administration. Forty-eight percent say it is less competent than Bush's, compared to 42 percent who say it is more competent. [Of course, Clinton scores better because a significant chunk of Democrats join the Republicans in agreement on that. ]

Fifty-five percent say that the Obama administration has made the country weaker; 35 percent say his administration has made it stronger. 

The poll was conducted June 1-3 by the Democratic Anderson Robbins Research and the Republican Shaw & Company Research.

Oh man, this is great.

[ksupamplemousse]

They've had a hard on for us for quite sometime. Maybe we're not their "#1 target" anymore, but it's a rough ridin' radical group causing hell and turmoil. I know the war is "over", but what's next?

If people eff with you, then I think it's appropriate to take out those responsible. Instead we waged war on an entire region of the world. When the civilians realized they were almost as likely to be killed by our military as a terrorist was, then all of the sudden they have some skin in the game. It becomes a lot easier for the local terrorist organization to recruit at that point. If you slowly and methodically put a cap in the asses of the INDIVIDUALS that were involved, then you send a message that terrorists get their comeuppance without many of the unintended consequences that our current/past policy has brought.

[420seriouscat69]

It's just shocking to me that some libtards are really going to bat for this guy. I mean, out of all the times we could have broke normal operations to save one of our own, this seems like a really weak case to do so.

http://m.siouxcityjournal.com/news/state-and-regional/south-dakota/sioux-falls-soldier-served-with-bergdahl-when-he-disappeared/article_7273bee2-2cd7-5f88-b7a3-29b12ee8cb6d.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=facebook%3Fmobile_touch%3Dtrue

[star seed 7]

I literally don't give a eff about any of this

[Rage Against the McKee]

Great job everybody, next up: World Hunger.

But hey, did the administration trade 5 bad guys for a deserter and possible traitor?

Hmmm

He's a possible deserter. I think he deserves a trial. (If it even warrants a trial.)

While I appreciate the innocent-until-proven-guilty sentiment, let's get real here. The guy left a note admitting he was deserting. I am a little surprised that the military hasn't already announced their intent to try him, which makes me wonder how much pressure this administration is exerting behind the scenes to sweep it under the rug.

You don't seem like you appreciate the innocent-until-proven-guilty sentiment at all.

Yes I do. By all means, he should be tried. But only a dumbass would ignore the fact that he left a note admitting he intentionally abandoned his post.

George Zimmerman left a 911 message saying he was going to chase down some kid.

[K-S-U-Wildcats!]

I literally don't give a eff about any of this

I think that's the reaction Obama was hoping for. I'm glad he was wrong. Keep us apprised when somebody says something racist.

[K-S-U-Wildcats!]

Great job everybody, next up: World Hunger.

But hey, did the administration trade 5 bad guys for a deserter and possible traitor?

Hmmm

He's a possible deserter. I think he deserves a trial. (If it even warrants a trial.)

While I appreciate the innocent-until-proven-guilty sentiment, let's get real here. The guy left a note admitting he was deserting. I am a little surprised that the military hasn't already announced their intent to try him, which makes me wonder how much pressure this administration is exerting behind the scenes to sweep it under the rug.

You don't seem like you appreciate the innocent-until-proven-guilty sentiment at all.

Yes I do. By all means, he should be tried. But only a dumbass would ignore the fact that he left a note admitting he intentionally abandoned his post.

Are you talking about the members of his platoon that tried to rescue him after finding this note? I don't think those guys were dumbasses.

Your posts are getting incrementally dumber. You should stop digging. His platoon would look for him regardless - he possessed valuable intelligence, not to mention he's still an American soldier. This doesn't change the fact that he left a note admitting that he abandonned his post.

Not that it really matters, but many of these same soldiers resented that they had to put themselves in potentially greater danger to look for this deserter. And, of course, there's a big damned difference between trying to recover a deserter and swapping five terrorists for him.

So seriously, stop being a dumbass.

[michigancat]

not to mention he's still an American soldier.

[K-S-U-Wildcats!]

Great job everybody, next up: World Hunger.

But hey, did the administration trade 5 bad guys for a deserter and possible traitor?

Hmmm

He's a possible deserter. I think he deserves a trial. (If it even warrants a trial.)

While I appreciate the innocent-until-proven-guilty sentiment, let's get real here. The guy left a note admitting he was deserting. I am a little surprised that the military hasn't already announced their intent to try him, which makes me wonder how much pressure this administration is exerting behind the scenes to sweep it under the rug.

You don't seem like you appreciate the innocent-until-proven-guilty sentiment at all.

Yes I do. By all means, he should be tried. But only a dumbass would ignore the fact that he left a note admitting he intentionally abandoned his post.

George Zimmerman left a 911 message saying he was going to chase down some kid.

I'm pretty sure you're joking, but just in case... GZ did not tell the dispatcher he intended to do anything unlawful, whereas the deserter left a note admitting that he was abandoning his post. So no, they're not the same.

[K-S-U-Wildcats!]

not to mention he's still an American soldier.

That seems to be where Obama's explanation stops, too. And for that reason, plus the intel, I don't criticize attempts to recover him. I criticize trading five terrorists for him five years later.

[michigancat]

not to mention he's still an American soldier.

That seems to be where Obama's explanation stops, too. And for that reason, plus the intel, I don't criticize attempts to recover him. I criticize trading five terrorists for him five years later.

Would you have preferred we used force to get him out (which would no doubt risk the lives of more soldiers), or let him die with the taliban?

[Rage Against the McKee]

I would have just let him die with the taliban, fwiw.

[420seriouscat69]

I would have just let him die with the taliban, fwiw.

I'm not really a heartless bastard, but if he turned his back on his platoon, i'm kinda in this boat.

[K-S-U-Wildcats!]

not to mention he's still an American soldier.

That seems to be where Obama's explanation stops, too. And for that reason, plus the intel, I don't criticize attempts to recover him. I criticize trading five terrorists for him five years later.

Would you have preferred we used force to get him out (which would no doubt risk the lives of more soldiers), or let him die with the taliban?

I would have searched for him after his disappearance, just as the military did. And in my talks with the Taliban, I would have continued to ask for his release. But I would not have swapped five terrorists for him. Not even sure I would have swapped one for one. If that means "dying with the Taliban," that seems to be what Bergdahl wanted.

Just as a reminder, from the NYT:

WASHINGTON — Sometime after midnight on June 30, 2009, Pfc. Bowe Bergdahl left behind a note in his tent saying he had become disillusioned with the Army, did not support the American mission in Afghanistan and was leaving to start a new life. He slipped off the remote military outpost in Paktika Province on the border with Pakistan and took with him a soft backpack, water, knives, a notebook and writing materials, but left behind his body armor and weapons — startling, given the hostile environment around his outpost.

[Emo EMAW]

I'm not as enraged as some of you.  We can still drone these 5 guys no problem. 

[sonofdaxjones]

For the record this came from Hannity's transcript, and I really don't like Hannity at all, but this really stuck out to me because of who said it.  Turley has typically been heralded by liberal/progressive types and Turley has among many things sued the Federal Government, specifically the DOD for mistreatment of Defense Department employees/contractors.   The somewhat famous Area 51 lawsuit from the 90's. 

Jonathan Turley: You know, I've said it before, Barack Obama is really the president Richard Nixon always wanted to be. You know, he's been allowed to act unilaterally in a way that we've fought for decades.

[michigancat]

I would have just let him die with the taliban, fwiw.

I'm not really a heartless bastard, but if he turned his back on his platoon, i'm kinda in this boat.

You are both kind of heartless bastards IMO. Have you read this?

http://m.rollingstone.com/politics/news/americas-last-prisoner-of-war-20120607

He was kind of a mumped up kid in a mumped up unit waging a mumped up war that Obama was dumb enough to try to escalate. He shouldn't have been in that situation in the first place. I also don't think the guys we traded for him present much of a threat to our safety. I mean we've been holding them without cause for like 12 years.

[Dugout DickStone]

Great job everybody, next up: World Hunger.

But hey, did the administration trade 5 bad guys for a deserter and possible traitor?

Hmmm

5 bad guys with GPS up their ass for a guy who will be interrogated to an insane degree to learn how these AQ guys operate?

I'd take it

[420seriouscat69]

Great job everybody, next up: World Hunger.

But hey, did the administration trade 5 bad guys for a deserter and possible traitor?

Hmmm

5 bad guys with GPS up their ass for a guy who will be interrogated to an insane degree to learn how these AQ guys operate?

I'd take it

Now see. I didn't think outside the box on this one. This is good.

[Fake Sugar Dick (WARNING, NOT THE REAL SUGAR DICK!)]

Great job everybody, next up: World Hunger.

But hey, did the administration trade 5 bad guys for a deserter and possible traitor?

Hmmm

5 bad guys with GPS up their ass for a guy who will be interrogated to an insane degree to learn how these AQ guys operate?

I'd take it

Now see. I didn't think outside the box on this one. This is good.

You realize this means AQ has 5 guys to interrogate to an insaner degree to learn how the US operates.
 

[puniraptor]

uhh... they have been sitting in a concrete box for 10 years